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For Rick Warren, mum’s the word

Rick Warren, the California megachurch pastor, has a busy two days next week. On Monday in Atlanta, he’ll deliver the keynote speech for the annual observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

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And, of course, on Tuesday he’ll give the opening prayer in Washington D.C. at Barack Obama’s presidential inauguration.

Warren, as Obama’s choice, has been the center of much discussion lately. He is a conservative whose opposition to gay marriage has provoked much angst in Democratic ranks. To be fair, Warren has also been a critic of the Religious Right for its failure to include the environment, AIDS and the poor in its agenda.

But whether he’s in D.C. or in Atlanta, don’t expect any extemporaneous participation in public conversation from Warren. This from The Caucus, a New York Times political blog:

Mr. Warren has decided not to grant any interviews before the inauguration next Tuesday, though he has received more than 100 requests for interviews, including strong appeals from competing celebrity television reporters, according to his spokesman, A. Larry Ross (who has also served for years as spokesman for the Rev. Billy Graham).

Mr. Ross’s firm released a statement saying, “Dr. Warren has determined there is no way he could fairly accommodate any interviews at the expense of others, but instead will let his prayer speak for itself.”

Mr. Ross said that Mr. Warren came to the decision on his own, without any pressure or guidance from the Obama inaugural planners. And for any journalists attempting a clever end run, Mr. Warren is also declining interview requests about the address he will give the day before the inauguration, on Martin Luther King Day, at historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Dr. King was once the pastor, in Atlanta.

Photo credit: AFP/Getty Images

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Comments

By God is watching us.

January 15, 2009 5:30 PM | Link to this

THe gay issue is too unsolvable. Is everybody gay? That is, if gay activity is a sin against god, then that has to mean that everyone has the potential to commit gay acts, or else how fair could it be that if someone were born gay, that all their sex would be sin?

Straight people would have an unfair advantage at the pearly gates.

It’s like as if being left handed were a sin.

The argument that gay is a choice is an argument for the possibility that everybody is gay. So dont even go there, homo sapiens.

But if a preacher gets success in life for demonizing gays like Warren, then surely there’s a special place in hell for him, Playing judge jury and excommunicator.

and Y do all these televangelists look the same? jklol

By Kenny

January 15, 2009 7:01 PM | Link to this

Rick Warren, Bush, and Obama should have public three-way fecal sex on inauguration day. Bush and Obama are bisexual, so that would be perfectly normal behavior for them. Warren might be kind of squeamish, but if it meant more book sales and more attention, he’d do it.

By Kenny

January 15, 2009 7:03 PM | Link to this

Rick Warren, Bush, and Obama should have public three-way fecal sex on inauguration day. Bush and Obama are bisexual, so that would be perfectly normal behavior for them. Warren might be kind of squeamish, but if it meant more book sales and more attention, he’d do it.

By Kenny

January 15, 2009 7:09 PM | Link to this

Rick Warren, Bush, and Obama should have public three-way fecal sex on inauguration day. Bush and Obama are bisexual, so that would be perfectly normal behavior for them. Warren might be kind of squeamish, but if it meant more book sales and more attention, he’d do it.

By Nancy

January 15, 2009 7:34 PM | Link to this

Kenny is an example of the sickness that is growing like a cancer on the left. If that is how the “core” core of the most ignorant democrat feels about all three of those great men, then fine. It is time for some civility like Pelosi said.

By Aaron Burr V. Mexico

January 15, 2009 8:16 PM | Link to this

Well I can’t tell what something in the bible says, when so many people say so many different things, but I can tell you that when I look at the people who have problems with gay marriage, I see Republicans….

And since I know Republicans are sociopathic liars who pass a law against Terry Shaivo because of her sociopathic parents….then I think that I can’t really be in favor of the Repugnant agenda.

By Bookman

January 15, 2009 8:26 PM | Link to this

THe gay issue is too unsolvable. Is everybody gay? That is, if gay activity is a sin against god, then that has to mean that everyone has the potential to commit gay acts, or else how fair could it be that if someone were born gay, that all their sex would be sin?

Straight people would have an unfair advantage at the pearly gates.

It’s like as if being left handed were a sin.

The argument that gay is a choice is an argument for the possibility that everybody is gay. So dont even go there, homo sapiens.

By pd

January 16, 2009 11:09 AM | Link to this

One day, the people who stand in the way of homosexual Americans’ pursuit of happiness will be remembered the way we remember George Wallace.

By gttim

January 16, 2009 12:15 PM | Link to this

Yeah, Warren does some AIDS work in Africa, but it tends to be more faith based than science based. He is not preventing AIDS as much as he is trying to convert. AIDS is epidemic in the straight community there and Warren’s efforts ignore condoms. People who could be saved are dying because of that.

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